A spokesman for the Baghdad security plan, Tahsin al-Sheikhly, was kidnapped from his Baghdad home by armed men on Thursday, security officials told AFP.

An Interior Ministry official told the Associated Press that three of spokesman's bodyguards were killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

The officials said Sheikhly, a Sunni who often appeared with U.S. military and embassy officials at news conferences to tout the successes of the crackdown that began in Baghdad and surrounding areas more than a year ago, was abducted from his home in Baghdad's Al-Amin neighbourhood at around 2:30 pm (1130 GMT).

"Armed men stormed his home at a time when there were clashes in his neighbourhood," a security official with the interior ministry said.

"They burnt his home and stole two cars and weapons before fleeing with him."